This book was wonderfully written and would honestly make sure a cute rom com movie. Our main character Hannah has so many wonderful strengths with her job as a bodyguard. It was all good until she met Jake Stapleton. Coming fresh off a workplace romance gone south and losing her best friend she now has to pretend to be a superstars girlfriend to his entire family. What ensues is Hannah learning more about herself, learning to relax, and opening herself up to a love that was entirely unexpected. Every moment in this book is well written, realistic and absolutely perfect. This was my first read of hers and I 100% plan to read more of her books.

This is a feel good read and definitely got me out of a rutt.

This book was incredible!! The plot was so fun and the banter was hilarious. Huge kudos to Katherine Center!
Main character, Hannah, was given the assignment of being movie star Jack Stapleton’s bodyguard. She wasn’t supposed to let his family know that she was his bodyguard so her assignment was to act as Jack’s ‘fake’ girlfriend. As usual, she got right down to business protecting him and watching over his family. Along the way, she and Jack started to catch feelings and simultaneously, the threat level of Jack’s stalker is getting worse causing danger to Hannah. Only way to solve it? Send Hannah home where she will be out of harms way.
It was at this point that they realized they were both in love with each other. Their relationship was so fun to watch unravel and I loved how Jack’s family kind of “adopted” Hannah and treated her as their own. Things escalated when Hannah ran into Wilbur on Jacks rooftop and the couple once again faced an escalated threat level unbeknownst to anyone other than Hannah who never quit her job and continued to watch out for Jack via the surveillance.
If you love fake dating tropes then this is 100% the book for you! If you’re a rom-com lover in general, you will love this read! Easily in my top 5 reads for the year so if you have the chance, add this one yo your tbr ASAP!

A little romance, a little Hollywood, a little stalking - this book has it all. Full of twists and surprises, the story kept me on my toes and wanting more to the very end.

Hannah Brooks is a no nonsense, professional bodyguard. But when her next assignment is to protect a Hollywood heartthrob, her world and her heart get turned upsidedown.

I absolutely loved this story and the characters! The perfect mix of light but also emotional. Center always delivers great love stories with heart, humor and believable chemistry.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

My favorite July read so far 🥰 I highly recommend this for someone who loves the fake dating trope and strong women leads!

For anyone who’s concerned about this like me, there’s no spice!

🤗 If you are looking for a warm hug of a book that makes you believe in all the good in the world this is the one you need. I am ashamed to say I never read this author before but after this one, I can’t wait to read allll her backlist. 

This book had everything: 

👩 Tough but sweet MC who can fully take care of herself 

🥰 Fun banter and flirting

👎 The worst ex-boyfriend ever (who was fun to hate)

✍️ Most excellently written

🎙 Narration was perfection 

💕 This is perfect for people that aren’t typically into rom coms because this one is different. Sure, it has the fake dating trope but this book just felt so much more special than the masses, because it had more depth, showing vulnerability and growth of the characters, both personally and towards each other. Overall just an extremely well-done story.

Brooklyn and I spent the day in SF going to the Giants game and eating way too much food! Look at my stories for today!

Here is one of my #botm books from this month! Love this cover! I just found the other book at my local shop.

This book was so fun! I love the bodyguard romance setup. But this bodyguard is a 5 ft kindergarten looking teacher an everyday normie. She's looking after a Hollywood star. She's more than capable of taking him down as she shows him when he doubts her 😂

Ugh she has to work with her ex who's horrible. And gets a lot of feedback from him and friends that she's hard to get close to.

The star, Jack is home being close to his mom who is sick and he has distance from his brother and lots of baggage.

This was so cute and a perfect summer read. This is my first of her books but I want to read her others!

Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

This wasn't my favorite of Center's novels, but it was a really heartwarming, cute story that made me laugh. I just think she's written better. But it was definitely better than her last release! I'd definitely recommend to Center fans.

GO GET THE BODYGUARD!!! Like right now! I'm not kidding! This book is that AH-MAZING! Thank you Katherine, Netgalley, and St Martin's Press for an early copy!

Hannah is such a relatable and fantastic FMC! She's great at her job without being braggy, she's got a hilarious inner monolog, and she's got insecurities that we can all relate with!

Jack is an absolute dream boat! He's humble and family oriented, not to mention drop dead gorgeous! I loved the fact that Hannah is the bodyguard and can kick his a$$! This book has twists and turns I wasn't anticipating which made it even funner to read!

I love when a story makes you laugh out loud, then break down in tears, and have that emotional a-ha moment! I connected with these characters and fell head over heels in love!!

"I’d never have admitted it—least of all to myself—but I did have what you could describe as a perfectly normal, nonpathetic, comfortingly mild, not-at-all creepy little crush on him. You know, in the way you might have a crush on the captain of the football team in high school. You’re not going to date the captain of the football team. You know your place—and your place is: A scribe for student government. A student liaison for community service. Vice president of the spreadsheet club. It’s just a little sunny place for your fantasies to wander. Sometimes. Occasionally. In between your many other more important things to do."

It's relatable and makes you giggle, right?! I highly recommend this book! Now off to deep dive into her backlist!!

Per the comment thread below, when it comes to anything Katherine Center writes my reaction has been a solid YESYESYESYESYES. But apparently not even being granted an early copy (that I devoured immediately upon receipt) and a publication day that has recently come and gone can get me to post a timely review. As I’ve said before, I am THE WORST.

Action film star Jack Stapleton stepped out of the public eye after the untimely death of his brother. That didn’t stop his stalker from pining for him, however. Now Jack is returning to the family ranch in Katy, Texas while his mother undergoes cancer treatment . . . but his publicity team insists that he do so with Hannah Brooks – an Executive Protection Agent (a/k/a bodyguard). Jack is waaaaaay not keen on that idea or explaining to the family he’s already estranged from that his return home not only will bring up the baggage of his brother’s passing, but also might bring along a middle-aged crazy Corgi breeder. The only solution? Pretend he and Hannah are an item. Fake dating?!?!?!?!?!?! SWOOOOOOOON.

So as I said above, YESYESYESYES to all things Katherine Center. Her books are just like a big ol’ hug.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

With the recent passing of her mother and then being dumped by her boyfriend, it’s safe to say things aren’t going too great for bodyguard Hannah Brooks. And now her boss informs her she’ll be guarding Hollywood heartthrob Jack Stapleton, not her usual type of client. But of course there’s a catch: Jack doesn’t want his family to know he’s got a bodyguard so Hannah needs to pretend to be his girlfriend. I loved everything about this book. It has a fantastic cast and you could feel the chemistry between Hannah and Jack, and the story is wicked cute. Can’t recommend this one enough to fans of rom-coms. Definitely one of best I've read so far this year. And I really hope someone in Hollywood options this one ASAP because I would love to see this made into a movie. Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing to read an eARC of Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RL63PV33V82QS/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I had the privilege of getting to experience the joy of this book a bit early thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress and when I tell you I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s an understatement.

This book was so heart achingly sweet, HILARIOUS, with such suspense that I could not read fast enough to figure out what was happening.

This five star read is a classic, I highly recommend it.

This book was exactly what I needed ! Centers writing is like a big old hug and she always leaves me feeling happy. Character development was on point and I love her take on the “3rd act breakup” which is always surprising and different !

Thank you to St. Martin’s for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Reading a new Katherine Center book feels like putting on your favorite pair of jeans-cozy, familiar. and oh, so joyful. The Bodyguard was written with her signature warmth, and the romance had me grinning and squealing the whole way through!

Hannah is assigned the task of working as the bodyguard for elusive movie star Jack Stapleton as he returns to Texas to tend to his sick mother. However, not wanting to worry his family with the news of his stalker, Hannah must pretend to be his girlfriend while also secretly keeping Jack and his family safe.

Obviously, Hannah begins to develop real feelings for Jack, and she starts to suspect that he might feel the same.

The Bodyguard was fabulous- full of a swoon-worthy romance, a side of action, and a message of what it means to love and be loved in return. This is a book that you read in one sitting, and then pass it on to everyone you know. In other words, it’s a book by Katherine Center.

4.5 stars 🌟

Synopsis: Following the death of her mother, Hannah Brooks is looking for an escape from her current life, specifically a new assignment (preferably as far away from home as possible) to clear her mind. As an executive protection agent, her job consists of protecting high profile people and celebrities to ensure their safety. However, her next assignment is unlike anything she would have expected - protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton. Jack, who has been out of the public eye for 2 years following a tragic accident, is coming to Houston for a few weeks to be with his sick mother. Here's the catch though: he doesn't want his parents knowing that he may be in any sort of danger, let alone having an obsessive stalker, so his one request is that Hannah pretend to be his girlfriend. But what happens when the whole ruse begins to feel more and more real over time? Hannah must now figure out how to protect her client while also protecting her heart at the same time...

In this fun, charming rom-com, Katherine Center delivers with the perfect amount of banter and witty jokes that had me genuinely laughing out loud. The character development throughout the novel was so well done and I loved getting to see the relationship forming between not just Hannah and Jack, but also Hannah and some of the side characters.

I felt like this book had the perfect mixture of fun and lightheartedness while also addressing some harder topics such as grief and death of a loved one. The only quip I had with this book occurred at the very end but I truly enjoyed the rest (there was one point where I literally highlighted like an entire page on my kindle because I loved the scene so much!!)

Such a fun read and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun fake dating story that will make you laugh while also having some emotional depth to it!

3.5⭐️ I feel like the premise this with a female bodyguard & Hannah being “ordinary” gave me some Miss Congeniality vibes. I really loved her character growth through the book and journey of self love. I also adored the banter between her & Jack. I loved their relationship, but hated that it seemed like the slowest burning romance of all time. I get that she was his “bodyguard”, but there was nothing but tension until the last third of the book.

Overall I thought it was a really cute book and I loved the characters. Just wish the romance would have gone a little differently for the story. Also, her ex boyfriend was beyond ridiculous.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I couldn’t put this one down! It had everything I want in a rom com: laugh out loud funny, strong female lead, and clean romance. This had such a unique storyline too!

I was granted this book in turn for an honest review. This book hit the mark for me. The storyline seemed a tad rushed and I wish I could have gotten to know the characters on a deeper level. I enjoyed the idea of the plot, but would have loved to see it more developed. There were a lot of great areas that could have unraveled into a great story. It was good for a quick, rom-com read.

Absolutely love this story it was so adorable and so cute and he really don’t read too many girl bodyguards so it was really fun to see it turned around it’s a very lighthearted story and it’s got some romantic comedy in it which made it so funny highly recommend this book.

This was a delightful rom-com! A female bodyguard, a swoony actor, a stalker, and a Texas ranch set the stage for this fast-paced read.

I've enjoyed several of this authors previous books, especially Things You Save in a Fire, and this one lived up to my expectations. It had the humor and banter I've come to expect from Katherine Center plus some serious moments and character growth. This was a low steam novel with fake dating, forced proximity and the one bed trope. Hannah and Jake were such a great couple! I enjoyed seeing them open up to each other despite their differences. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a sweet romance to add to your TBR.

Thank you to the publisher for my ecopy of this book.